Stray
by selena11anuri
Summary: Inuzuka Hana, a vet in training, meets an old friend from her elementary school who's changed drastically from the idealistic young boy she used to know. Now he's a wounded stray and she can't help but take him in. ItaHana AU
1. Prologue:StrangerChapter 1:Familiarity

[AN: This is a small fic I came up with while avoiding summer homework. I waited this long to post it because I spend most of my time working on another Itachi story I have and I WILL finish that and publish it eventually but it is LONG. Anyway enjoy this in the mean time –sel]

[[ Summary: Inuzuka Hana, a vet in training, meets an old friend from her elementary school who's changed drastically from the idealistic young boy she used to know. Now he's a wounded stray and she can't help but take him in. ItaHana AU]]

{Disclaimer: No I don't own Naruto. I don't own the characters. I don't own much at all except the words that come out of my mouth (or I type anyway) thus those parts that are not mine are not mine and I don't claim them in any way. XD}

**Stray**

(A Naruto FanFic: Selena Anuri)

Prologue: Stranger

"You have a visitor." A simple statement with no question or option, simply a statement of the facts. It was a useless statement. Why else would the doors be open and the prisoner given any measure of freedom. Uchiha Sasuke slumped against the wall looking at the gray floor without feeling, his black eyes were dead. Slowly that dead gaze turned to the Guard. In another situation the look would have been taken as one of hate, and the slow reaction as rebellion. But from Sasuke it was nothing more than indifference and apathy. Hands cuffed and chained he was led down gray halls past gray doors and gray bared windows. The only color was the orange jumpsuit and the only light was a florescent glow that provided little warmth in the dreary Konoha prison. A gray dingy table with gray hard back seats was waiting for the dark haired criminal in clinking chains. Then the visitor came in.

Sasuke looked up out of habit but never really saw the woman in front of him. She was a pale skinned brunet. Her hair was the color of chocolate and it was pulled back, leaving two strands to frame the pale perfect heart shape of her face. Her eyes were dark, but unlike Sasuke's they were filled with a deep loving sadness of someone who has lost a part of her family. Those sad eyes were rimmed with red, irritated by tears and circled by deep bruise colored half moons. Red triangle tattoos were the most noticeable part of her face and they accented how pale she was and how red her eyes were. For a long time she didn't speak or even sit.

"Do you know who I am?" she asked finally sinking into the seat across from him. Sasuke just looked back, he had no idea who she was. "I didn't think you would," her eyes never left his. "Detective Uzumaki came to me earlier today and gave me this," The brunet woman slid a photograph across the table. The stiff paper was creased in two vertical lines, faded, and ripped at one corner. Still clear was the brunet's smiling face and three large gray dogs around her. Silently Hana flipped the picture over where an address was written in familiar handwriting. "Do you know how Detective Uzumaki might have come into possession of this?" she asked Sasuke. The dark haired criminal could only look at her blankly, not understanding the question. "You told Mr. Uzumaki something that led him to this picture."

"504432, 1923, 609, 05, 15, 35," Sasuke repeated the numbers he had given Naruto. The numbers that had been a constant chant in his mind, the numbers his brother had whispered looking down the barrel of Sasuke's gun, the numbers that Sasuke couldn't dare to hope would give him answers.

"Yes," The woman nodded. "Zip code, address, box number, combination," she explained what Sasuke had already figured out. It was what he had told Naruto.

"Why would this picture be in Itachi's safety deposit box?" Sasuke looked at the woman before him impassively, no emotion on his face. "You knew my brother?"

"My name is Inuzuka Hana," reaching into her pocket she pulled out a sealed envelope. "I knew your brother probably better than anyone alive now. He left this for you but…" Hana held it before him, knowing his eyes followed it doggedly. "Before I give it to you and walk away I wanted to know what you saw in his eyes… right before he died." Her warm brown eyes seemed to melt with grief looking at Sasuke. The dark haired criminal snapped his gaze to her quickly then looked down. Emotion passed over his features for the first time since entering the room. He didn't answer, he didn't have an answer. Hana stood, sliding the letter to him, and left without another word.

The letter read

_**Dear Sasuke,**_

_** If you are reading this letter than you already **_

_**know every secret I kept in this fleeting life. You **_

_**already know the truth I couldn't bring myself to tell **_

_**you and the lies I spun to save you. Little brother, what **_

_**you don't know is how much I want to apologize, but **_

_**these scratches of ink will never make up for the pain I **_

_**put you through. I will not blame you if you hate me or **_

_**resent you if you never forgive me. I deserve both as **_

_**much, if not more, than I deserve your pity, care, or **_

_**love. But you are my brother, and even if you hate me I **_

_**will always be here for you… if only as the wall you **_

_**have to climb over. Sasuke I have two requests, neither **_

_**I deserve to ask you, someone I have injured so deeply.**_

_**The First is unfair, for you and Hana, the **_

_**young woman I hope delivered this letter to you. Take **_

_**care of her in my absence. If the world found out her **_

_**meaning to me they would come looking for revenge. **_

_**Please do not think ill of me for causing that danger or **_

_**of her for accepting me. I am praying you will keep her **_

_**safe if anything should happen. **_

_**Don't blame yourself for my death. This is my **_

_**last request of you. Never think that I died because of **_

_**you. My death is suicide, the worst form of suicide. It**_

_**is for you and Konoha and this world we know. My **_

_**death is the most selfish thing I will ever do and all **_

_**I can ask is that you know it is my own doing and not **_

_**in anyway your fault.**_

_**I love you more than you could know, my brother. **_

_** Itachi**_

Chapter 1: Familiarity

"Come on Hana," Kiba called after his sister, "You don't have to leave so soon. We just finished dinner and Haruno-san brought us a pie for dessert." Hana stopped as she pulled on her thick green coat at the door and looked down into two pairs of pleading brown eyes. Her younger brother and his small puppy, Akamaru, both begged silently seeing the older woman's wavering resolve.

"Let her go," Tsume instructed her son from the kitchen door at the opposite end of the hall. "If she doesn't want to see her family then that's her choice. Let her sulk away in that filthy house alone." Harsh as always, the dark haired mother glared at her eldest child with unforgiving slanted eyes. At her heals Kuromaru, Tsume's always faithful canine, watched sadly with his good eye. For Hana seeing him was just too much.

"I'm sorry Kiba but I have homework," she lied. Embracing her little brother Hana whispered a quick good bye. "Take care Akamaru, get big and strong. Don't let mom get down on you little brother." With one last glace at her mother and the large black dog at her side Hana left her childhood home, disappearing into the shadowy suburban night.

_I hate being back in that house, _she thought trudging through the thin layer of white snow. _I know I promised Kiba but Mom…. She still hasn't forgiven me has she? _The weight in her chest grew heavier. It had become so familiar in the last month Hana could barely remember what it was like to be free of that pressure. Trying desperately to block out painful memories Hana made her way around the corner to where she'd parked her car through the dark winter streets of her home town.

Itachi cursed his own stupidity over and over as the cold night air whipped over his face. Pain throbbed in his arm and made him dizzy where he stood. Dirty and beaten he knew the picture he must have been. Dark clothes, heavy sturdy boots, a worn backpack, and a bruise over his right eye: he looked like a criminal. Warm liquid ran over his bare fingertips and soaked into the fabric of his worn gloves. Pain shot up his arm and instinctively he grasped the offending limb tighter. Dizzy from holding his breath and the pain Itachi crouched against the walls of the bus shelter. _I can't stay here long. I have to keep moving. I can't get on the bus. They'll take me to a hospital. I can't pass out. I'll freeze if I fall asleep. I have to stop the bleeding. If it hurts much more… _

All of his thoughts were cut off as a deep hacking cough shook his body violently.

"Are you Okay?" a kind young woman's voice asked. Itachi looked up quickly. Releasing his injured arm his hand went to clip where his knife should have been. _Of course_, he told himself,_ they took that when they found out who you were._ "It's alright," she said quickly but calmly, "I just want to help. I'm a nurse." She explained. Itachi realized for the first time who he was really facing. In the rush of adrenalin he had skipped over her face entirely and looked immediately for a weapon or some sign of attack. The woman before him was no older than 25. She had pale skin, a heart shaped face and a dark green jacket with the hood pulled up. Strands of the girls chocolate colored hair fell into her dark slanted eyes and she brushed them back now in a self conscious way. Her lips were pink and stood out against the cold-paled color of her face. Most noticeably she had two triangle shaped red marks on her cheeks that were strangely familiar.

"You're bleeding," she told him calmly keeping eye contact. "Let me help you, I'm a nurse. Your arm is injured," This brunet had a calming voice that spoke in a monotonous way. It took Itachi a moment to realize what she was saying.

"I know," he answered, voice horse.

"May I see?" she asked reaching for his arm. He didn't react to her words right away but when she touched him he flinched back as if shocked. "It's alright. I'm a nurse. I just want to help." A tickling began in his throat and Itachi doubled over coughing again. "You're sick. Let me help you." The brunet continued in her constant cadence. Numbly Itachi allowed her to pull his injury into full view. Her face darkened as she saw the extent of the damage. "You are very badly hurt. You need to go to a hospital." The cadence had changed was what first registered in Itachi's mind, then the meaning of the words hit him. "We need to get on the bus. It will take you to the hospital. They can help you." Looking past her pale concerned face he saw the idling bus. _I didn't even hear it pull up,_ he noted in disgust. A gentle tug on his good arm brought back her words. _'Hospital' 'badly hurt' 'need to go to a Hospital'…_

"No!" Itachi's voice was weak but forceful and he pulled back hard enough he lost his balance and slammed against the plastic wall of the shelter. Dizziness over took him for a long moment. Vaguely he heard another voice and then the girl with the chocolate hair spoke again.

"No, we aren't," she said though it didn't make immediate sense. The roar of the bus pulling from the station explained what she meant. They weren't taking the bus. _Good, _he thought relieved.

"You need to stand up and come with me," she told him pulling his arm again and helping to steady his unsure feet. "I'm going to help you," Hana whispered as she led the injured stranger to her car. _God knows why but I am. Mom can scold me later._

The stranger sat on her crumbling foot stool his good hand clenching and unclenching in a nervous and uneasy manner. He looked almost out of place in her small living room. The mismatched furniture was all in faded pale floral prints, the carpet was threadbare to the point of being unrecognizable and her various books and papers were strewn about along with jackets and various other belongings. He looked like a spot of dark paint dropped on a creamy canvas. Dressed in thick black cargo pants and a thin short sleeve back shirt with his long dark hair he looked almost Goth. Even in the warm lights of the inside his skin looked sickly pale and almost luminescent. The seven inch cut along his arm completed the painting. Red blood ran in slow streams down his white fingers and dripped passively onto the carpet.

Hana didn't usually associate with people like her unexpected guest. He was the kind of person she had avoided. But something about this particular man seemed familiar in a friendly way. She wouldn't go so far as to say she trusted him but she didn't believe he would harm her as long as she helped him. The mysterious stranger looked kind even in all of the blood and dirt.

The brunet settled herself on the coffee table in front of her guest, a bowl of hot water and an assortment of medical supplies in her arm. Clearing a space on the crowded couch Hana arranged her tools like a doctor.

"I need you to hold still," she spoke calmly and slowly keeping her voice steady and her words simple. "I am going to clean the cut. This will hurt. Try to hold still." The stranger seemed to hear her and watched every move she made suspiciously, but silently. Which was better than any dog she treated. When the hot water touched his cold flesh she felt him finch and heard air his past clenched teeth. "It's only water," she assured the stranger. It had honestly been a long time since she had sewn up anything bigger than a golden retriever and Hana could feel the familiar nervousness building in her chest. The stranger held still as she disinfected the wound and even as she sewed up the cut he remained like a stone beneath her needle. Hana finished in record time and leaned back in relief.

"Wow you're still as a sedated terrier and you don't twitch as much," The brunet gathered her materials.

"You have steady hands," Her dark haired patient told her, speaking for the first time, sounding grateful and relieved. Looking up at her, the corners of his mouth pulled up in a small smile, he said simply, "Thank you." It was nice being thanked by a patient again. Animals never seemed to be able to in the same way people could.

"No problem," she answered. "Here," she shoved a glass of water into his hands. "Drink." The stranger seemed surprised at the command but complied gratefully. "You need to eat something," Hana called over her shoulder as she disappeared into the kitchen with the dirty tools and bloody bowl of water. "What do you want? Most of what I have is just leftovers but I'm sure you'll find something." She appeared again in the doorway to see her patient standing and reaching for his coat.

"Thank you," he told her again and bowed politely, much to his hostesses shock, "but I really shouldn't stay."

"Where will you go?" she asked. "You're most likely hungry after losing so much blood. You'll pass out if you try to walk anywhere now. You don't even know where you are and what will you do when that cut gets infected?" she asked looking at him skeptically. For a split second he looked annoyed but her logic was solid. The two unlikely acquaintances thus found themselves sharing Chinese takeout and cheep tea in the small kitchen of Hana's house.

"I don't know how to thank you," The stranger confessed after eating half of the food set before him. Hana shrugged and took a sip of her tea.

"How about telling me your name?"

"Ichiro, Ichiro Takahashi," he lied smoothly.

"Well it's nice to meet you," Hana smiled. _That doesn't sound familiar at all but the more I'm around him the more I'm sure I've met him somewhere. _She shrugged it off and introduced herself,_ "_my name's Inuzuka Hana."

"Thank you very much Dr. Inuzuka."

"Just Hana is ok," the brunet waved off his thanks. "Besides I'm by no means a doctor, or even a real nurse. I trained to be and passed all the tests I just…" Hana trailed off, "I guess you could say I like dogs more than people. I go to the Konoha community college and switched to veterinary medicine last semester," Ichiro looked surprised and about to ask a question when Hana changed the subject suddenly. "How did you get that cut anyway? I assume whoever it was also gave you that nice fist shaped bruise above your eye," she smiled a little and returned to her food. Ichiro didn't smile. He looked quite dark and forbidding where he sat at the other end of the table. There was a hard look to his eyes and his face that was deeper than anger.

"Just some old enemies," he whispered and went back to his own food. Dinner was silent after that. Hana offered for her new friend to use her bathroom and told him he could crash on her couch. The next day she promised herself she would get rid of him. Good natured and trusting Hana may have been, she was not stupid enough to miss seeing Ichiro was trouble. Still his polite attitude was deceiving and after a much needed shower he looked almost like any other college student she knew. But even then there was something in the way he moved and how his eyes were always watching the shadows that said 'criminal'. Rationally it should have bothered Hana that a possible criminal was sleeping in her living room but honestly it didn't. She still had that feeling she knew him from somewhere.

End Chapter 1

[AN: well I really didn't want a multi chapter fic but whatever. Anyway, there's chapter one. Kind of short but that's ok with me. ]


	2. Chapter 2: Recognition

[AN: Wow, I didn't expect to get much response seeing as this is kind of a side pairing and these two have never even met in the series (that we know of). So I would like to thank **melioko, RemaSofiRuin, Chanvre Vert, my anonymous reviewer and Golden Horde.** I'm really glad you like my story and really sorry this was posted late. :D]

* * *

Chapter 2: Recognition

* * *

The halls of The Konoha Academy were brick and lined with beaten green lockers that showed years of children's writing and the tape of flyers that were torn down long ago. Row after row of these green metal cabinets flew past Hana as she ran from door to door, throwing them open in her frantic search. Room after room she searched but all were disappointingly empty, filled with an unearthly still silence. _He_ was there somewhere she knew, somewhere in the infinite maze of brick and green metal cabinets. Still she found herself on the last hall throwing open doors to vacant class rooms. The last door at the end was nothing more than a storage closet in her memory, but when she threw it open there inside was a living room decorated with second hand furniture lit by golden light bulbs and a familiar dark haired man sitting on the footstool in a black winter jacket. She called his name thinking 'I've found you at last' and that familiar face looked up. But it wasn't who she was looking for.

A strong hand shook Hana from her dream and she pulled away instinctively with a surprised yelp. The hand pulled back and in the half light of her open window Hana saw Ichiro's face watching her curiously. Breathing out in relief and trying desperately to calm her racing heart the brunet sat up.

"Good god Ichiro," she gasped. "You scared the fucking shit out of me."

"I'm sorry," Itachi apologized as he sat at the end of the bed. "You were having a nightmare." Hana was confused for a moment.

"You could hear me in the living room?" she asked unbelieving.

"I was in the bathroom," he explained, which was right across the hall and she'd left her door open out of habit.

"Ah," the brunet acknowledged, "Thanks for waking me." though she wasn't sure if it was the truth. _What was that dream?_ Hana tried to remember who she had been looking for so desperately but she couldn't bring up a face or a name. The more she tried to grasp at the dream the more it slipped away.

"You're troubled," Shin stated softly. It was neither a question nor or a demand for explanation, it was simply a statement.

"Why do you say that?" Hana asked her strange guest.

"You invited a complete stranger into your home and sleep with your door open. Are you afraid of nothing?" he asked her. Hana was surprised.

"I don't think you're a bad guy," she laughed a little. "Besides it's nice to have someone to wake me from my nightmares." Ichiro nodded and looked away.

"Good night," he said suddenly and stood to leave.

"Good night," Hana returned awkwardly but Ichiro had already disappeared around the corner. The brunet was left staring at where his silhouette had been, bright in a thin white shirt against the dark shadows of the hall. _What's up with him?_ Hana wondered. Laying down again she looked up at the moon that hung in the sky just over the tops of her neighbors trees letting her mind wander. Drifting slowly back to sleep her thoughts lingered on the dream. _Why would I remember my elementary school at a time like this? I haven't thought about that place since Kiba finished there almost ten years ago. _Suddenly she understood what had jogged her subconscious memory and why her elementary school would have come up in the dream. Silent as she could Hana jumped up and reached high on her shelf for a large ring bound red scrapbook. It had been a graduation gift from her best friends when they left for collage. Anna, an older girl she'd known since their first days of kindergarten, had found a copy of every class photo and every cast photo from every school play they had ever been in together. Now Hana flipped through the pages of old notes and ticket stubs looking for that face. _I knew you looked familiar!_

_

* * *

_

Itachi woke up to the smell of bacon, the frying fat in hot popping grease. The air around him was warm, thick with the scent, and the blankets pilled on his shoulders were a comforting weight. For the first time in a too long Itachi didn't feel the chill of winter in his bones. If it hadn't been for the throbbing in his arm he would have said it was a dream but the pain was sharp and forced his heavy eyes open. Blinking in the sunlight Itachi remembered where he was and why he was so warm.

Hana was at the stove with her back to him when Itachi entered the kitchen, placing crispy slices of still sizzling bacon on a plate. Beside her a coffee pot was brewing and it clacked away, filling the house with the smell of fresh grounds.

"Good morning," she greeted him over her shoulder. "I hope you like bacon and eggs." Itachi only nodded and took a seat when she motioned to it. "Sleep well? She asked. "My old roommate used to say my couch was the most comfortable bed in the world. Then again most of the time she was drunk and didn't care if it was concrete or velvet she slept on."

"I admit I feel a little better knowing I'm not the only one who has found refuge in your living room," Itachi told her as she set the plate of bacon on the table in front of him.

"No you are far from the first but certainly the strangest," eggs sizzled in the pan behind him and glancing over his shoulder Itachi reached for the still steaming plate before him. Just under the edge of the plate was a large photograph. The faces of many smiling third graders looked up at him and a shiver passed down his spine. "Don't touch that," Hana's stern voice brought him back from the momentary shock of seeing the photo and a spatula came down on the back of his hand. "By the way, how's your arm?" she asked turning to the stove as if the photo meant nothing. Itachi pulled his bandaged and throbbing arm up onto the table, unwinding the white gauze to reveal the black stitches.

"Painful," he told her simply. Hana chuckled.

"Swallow these," she commanded setting a glass of water before him and two small red pills. "They'll help but I can't guarantee they'll do a whole lot." Her fingers were cold against his bare skin as she turned his arm back and forth. He jumped and pulled away instinctively when she pressed near the cut. "It looks ok but there may still be infection in the wound and it'll leave a nice scar," Hana informed when she was done inspecting her handy work. _Another for the collection, _She added mentally looking at the assortment of scars that crisscrossed over the skin she could see. A dark line on the inside of his wrist caught her eye. "What's the tattoo?" She asked curious. Itachi glanced quickly at the exposed black mark. Silently and almost regretfully he turned his arm over to reveal the black demon head there. It was vaguely shaped like a human head with nine eyes on a blindfold and a scroll in its mouth of jagged teeth. Below the demon head were two hands facing up as if in praise and the whole thing was patterned to appear made of wood. The picture it made was almost of a satanic cult and it was just a little creepy in Hana's opinion. Itachi could see how the mark bothered his host and pulled his arm back slowly.

"Cool," she breathed and turned back to the eggs a little too quickly.

"Most people have that reaction," he nodded.

"Take the pills," Hana told her guest returning with the pan in her hand, "Then eat." Breakfast was silent for a while, both of them enjoying the food. Slowly Itachi felt the pain in his arm edge away as the pills took effect. It didn't disappear but the medicine helped.

"Why did you lie to me?" Hana asked when she set down her fork. Itachi looked up slowly at his hostess then down at the picture between them.

"You might not believe me if I told you," he smiled a little, but it was a humorless hateful smile. Picking up the photo he stared back at a younger version of himself. "To think that the vet who saved me is an old classmate from elementary school… Did you recognize me at the bus stop?" he asked her. Hana shook her head.

"I couldn't figure out where I'd meet you till last night," she confessed. "If you'd told me you're real name I might have figured it out. Itachi isn't very common. Did you recognize me?" she asked.

Itachi shook his head. "I realized last night just before you did I think."

"Well why did you lie?" she asked sounding a little offended. She had every right to be. Hana had taken him in without even asking his name and sewed up his arm, the least he could do is be honest. Itachi reached for the newspaper that was still in its plastic bag on the counter. Flipping it open he laid it before her. There on the front page at the bottom was a mug shot with his name printed at the bottomin bold letters: **Uchiha Itachi. 'Wanted fugitive. Violent and dangerous. Information call 234-567-8765'**it read. "Front page, wow," she whispered. Itachi could see surprise on her face but no fear. "I almost don't believe it and it's in print before my eyes. You were such a nice, quiet kid. I remember hating you because you got better grades than I did. I can't even remember you ever getting in trouble either. What happened?" Her dark warm copper colored eyes were piercing. "What did you do that's so bad?"

"I can't really say…"

"Come on," she rolled her eyes, "I saved you're life."

"I steal information," he said looking straight at her with unblinking hard black eyes. "There isn't a computer or a building I can't get into or out of untraceably, government or criminal. I was recruited by a… gang of sorts and I've been relaying information to them for the past few years."

"Wow," Hana whispered under her breath in disbelief, "I wouldn't have picked you out as the gangster in third grade." Itachi smiled a little but it was the same hateful look as before.

"I'm sorry to cause you trouble, thank you again," he stood with that and headed for the living room.

"You don't have to go," Hana dropped the newspaper and stood. Itachi stopped in the doorway.

"I should," He told her over his shoulder, his voice flat and restrained.

"But you don't have to," The brunet clarified, "Don't feel like I'm rushing you out."

"Hana…" Itachi turned to look at his hostess, an internal debate clear in the shadows of his eyes. He might have said more but his voice trailed off as they both heard footsteps on the creaking wooden stairs of the front porch. Itachi disappeared into the living room just as a loud knock on the door echoed through the small house.

Knock, knock, knock. Hana froze and couldn't move for a moment.

"Open up, Police," a voice called. Hana jumped at the sound and hurried to the door. On the other side was a tall dark skinned Police officer in a dark blue uniform and coat.

"Konoha Law Enforcement, Officer Holland" he told her showing his badge and ID card. "Are you Inuzuka Hana?" She squinted in the direct sunlight and nodded. "I'm just here to ask you a few questions. Have you seen this man?" Officer Holland held up the mug shot Hana had just seen in the paper. She shook her head again.

"Sorry, no," Hana answered.

"He's a fugitive that was spotted in the area. We are working to apprehend him. Do you live alone Ms. Inuzuka?" he continued.

"Yes," she answered raising her hand to block the light. A movement to her right made her glance briefly and she saw Itachi against the wall just inside behind the door. She hoped the officer hadn't noticed her look or written it off as the sunlight in her eyes.

"If you have family or friends nearby I would suggest you stay with them for a few days. The fugitive is believed to be related to a violent terrorist organization," Officer Holland cautioned.

"Thank you, I'll see if I can stay with a friend across town," Hana lied smoothly.

"Thank you miss, have a good day," the police man turned and headed back down her creaky porch steps without looking back. Hana forced herself not to slam the door as she closed it. Sighing heavily she fell onto her couch.

"You shouldn't have lied for me," Itachi came to sit beside her.

"What was I going to do? Say, 'yeah he's here come arrest him'?" Hana asked appalled.

"You could be tired for aiding and abetting a wanted terrorist," He warned her.

"I know," she nodded, "My father was a Police officer." Itachi looked up surprised.

"That's something we have in common," he smiled a small but genuine smile and Hana couldn't help but return it.

"I won't sell you out," she promised Itachi.

"I don't know how I can repay you," he told her honestly.

"Don't worry about it until I get arrested," She grinned, standing as she said it. His eyes widened and she laughed, "Joking. But seriously, now you can't be thinking about leaving." He nodded just as seriously, his eyes far off – scheming. In the next room Hana's cell phone vibrated the kitchen table. With a sigh the brunet retrieved the small black device and raised it to her ear.

"_**Hana you have to come down to the clinic right now!"**_ Hana's old roommate chattered excitedly, her voice slightly marred by the scratchy phone.

"Come on Jen can't it wait?" Hana asked in a wine.

"_**Absolutely NOT!"**_Jen protested. _**"You're going to love this one, I just know it."**_

"Jen I told you I don't want another dog," Hana told her friend sternly, "and I especially don't want a puppy!"

"_**How did you know it was a puppy?"**_ Jen asked in confusion.

"I know you Jen," Hana laughed. "I don't have the time to train or take care of a puppy right now. I barely passed my Midterms. I need to focus on school for a while."

"_**We both know you did fine on the Midterms,"**_ Jen grumbled something the phone didn't catch but sounded surprisingly like 'better than me'. Jen continued,_**"So come meet this guy. He's really, really cute."**_

"Jen, I'm just not ready yet," Hana shook her head even though Jen couldn't see her, "It's still too recent."

"_**That's why you need a new puppy!"**_Jen nearly shouted into the phone, _**"I should move back in with you Hana. You've been so distant lately. If you don't at least come look I'm telling John I'm moving back and you have to find a new bunk bed before I become a hunchback sleeping on your couch!"**_

"Fine," Hana sighed in exasperation. "I'll be there in half an hour."

"_**It only takes you ten minutes to get dressed,"**_Jen complained, _**"see you in fifteen and if you aren't here I swear I'm calling—"**_

"Okay!" Hana rolled her eyes, "See you then." The phone beeped softly when she pressed the red hang up button. Turning around the brunet came face to face with Itachi and jumped violently, not having heard the almost imperceptible sounds of his approach. "God," she gasped, "Don't scare me like that." He shrugged and moved around her to where he had been eating his breakfast. "Listen," Hana started awkwardly, wondering if it was a good idea to leave him at her house alone.

"I am," Itachi looked up with dark intent eyes. Hana almost felt the need to look away.

"I need to go to the clinic and meet a friend. She wants me to adopt a puppy. Can you stay here for a while…. Actually I have class after that and I'll have more homework so I'll need to stop by the library and return that book and…." Hana trailed off as she compiled the extensive list of things she needed to do that day. "Can I leave you here for the day? Feel free to eat anything in the fridge, the TV works though you'll have to hunt to find the remote, and my lap top is in my room if you want to brave going in there, it's a mess.

"I'll be alright," he assured her. "And I won't steal your stuff." He added seeing her discomfort at the situation clear on her face. Hana shook her head.

"Didn't think you would," she muttered. Still it made her uneasy to leave him there alone. If he left then the Police would find him in an instant. On her drive to the clinic she saw three police cars in her neighborhood. Itachi was trapped in Hana's house. For some reason all of it made Hana's stomach fill with bugs. All day she tried to shake the feeling and concentrate on what was really happening. The puppy was a cute brown and white mix breed and she had to admit that he was nice. But she couldn't take on a puppy at that point. Jen was disappointed, but she didn't call her boyfriend and move back in with Hana. That would have been a disaster. Thinking about kind and bubbly, cautious Jen meeting blank, cold, Uchiha the criminal was a terrifying thought.

Class was boring, she couldn't seem to concentrate on Kakashi's lecture or even muster up disgust at his porn obsession. Homework was worse. As she worked through it sitting in the all too quite library, the chemicals and numbers seemed to jump around on the page and rearrange themselves each time she looked down at them. Finally making some sense of the jumbled equations Hana was almost done when her phone when off, interrupting her thoughts and dispersing any understanding that she had gathered of the material. Scrambling through the papers on the table for the noisy vibrating gadget she dodged glares of the other students and the strict librarian, Kurenai.

"What?" she whispered into the phone when she finally found it under her anatomy textbook.

"_**Sis, it's Kiba,"**_ her little brother called loudly on the other end.

"Shhh, I know I have caller ID," she knew she sounded exasperated. He'd interrupted her and now she was sure she would never finish.

"_**Mom's in one of those moods again,"**_ he complained. **"**_**Think I could come over for dinner at your place?"**_Hana could feel the un-amused look on her face and somehow her brother felt it on the other end of the line in her silence. _**"Okay so Jen put me up to this but we're all just worried about you, can I?"**_

"Kiba I really have work I need to do…"

"_**Well I'm already at your house so finish up and—"**_

"You're where?" Hana asked panicking. Itachi was in her house unaware that Kiba was going to walk in at any moment.

"_**Outside your house where else,"**_ Her little brother repeated.

"Kiba," Hana protested, "You can't come over tonight—"

A firm voice interrupted her. "Excuse me," Kurenai had come up silently to put an end to the noisy conversation in her library, "Ms. Inuzuka. I need you to either end your conversation or take it outside." The dark haired librarian advised sternly but kindly.

"Yes ma'am," Hana whispered. Turning back to the phone she tried one last time to keep her brother from finding her criminal houseguest. "Kiba," the silence on the other end of the line was deafening. Then the dial tone sounded loud in her ear and Hana slammed the phone shut cussing.

* * *

End Chapter 2

* * *

[AN: yay another chapter done. If you didn't get it Itachi's tattoo is the sealing statue from the actual series. Chapter three will be up next Sunday (cause i'll forget on Monday). Please Review ^^. -sel]


	3. Chapter 3: Understanding

[AN: Wow four page chapter ^^. Before we start I would like to thank GoldenHorde, Chanvre Vert, meliko, and bladz-liska for their reviews.]

* * *

Chapter 3: Understanding

* * *

Hana rushed up her creaking front steps and pushed open the door with difficulty seeing as her arms were filled with lose papers and open books. Breathing hard she was shocked to find her clueless little brother sitting on the couch beside her strange guest, smearing half melted ice cream over a chocolate chip cookie.

"Hi sis," he smiled and popped the whole thing into his mouth. "You could have just said your boyfriend was here. I'm a little offended you didn't tell me about him." Kiba had his feet propped up on the table and the sounds of a soccer game were clear. Beside him were an empty milk carton and the box of cookies he had finished. The container of ice cream sat between the two boys, drops of condensed water running down the sides and onto the already dirty and stained cushions. Itachi appeared to be intent on the game, but Hana had a feeling he wasn't thinking about sports at all. The door closed with a slam and Hana glared at the two boys.

"He is not my boyfriend," she protested, "Don't talk with food in your mouth and did you drink all of the milk?" she asked him in horror.

"I was thirsty and there wasn't that much left," he explained without taking his eyes from the TV. Hana glared at her intruding little brother and suddenly realized how dark it was in her house.

"Who closed the blinds?" she looked over at the covered window. Looking back at the two boys, Kiba shrugged and Itachi looked up at her for the first time. His head shook ever so slightly in warning. _Why does he need the windows closed?_ Hana wondered. "Kiba take your feet of the furniture," she scolded and walked past him to the kitchen. Angrily she dropped her homework and sighed in clear relief.

The chemistry wasn't any easier at home then it was in the library. The sounds of the television didn't help and in time Hana gave up the lost cause. Grumbling about her brother and the amount of work her chem. Professor had given her the brunet heated up soup and made toast. Still put off Hana served the two guests in her living room and took the place of the empty ice cream container on the couch with them.

It's suddenly struck her that someone was missing from their dinner.

"Where's Akamaru?" she asked sitting up and looking around quickly. A small seed of panic rose in her chest.

"Relax sis," Kiba quickly tried to calm Hana down. "He's under the table." And there he was under Kiba's propped up feet as far from the couch as possible. "I don't think he likes you much," Kiba told Itachi and chuckled. Itachi looked down at the cowering animal for a moment then took another bite of his food without a word.

"You should have left him with Kuromaru," Hana scolded her little brother. "You know he hates being here. This place still smells like…"

"Relax Hana," Kiba gave her an exasperated look. "He's fine." Hana didn't look at all convinced. Her face as creased in concern and fear of the little dog and her eyes were sad.

"That was dumb," Itachi commented on the football game they were watching now. It wasn't like him to interrupt or speak his mind but sensing the conversation was going downhill he tried to change the subject.

"What happened?" Kiba asked, taking the new topic gratefully and having missed whatever it was had just happened. Hana tuned out the blow by blow recap Itachi was giving. Kneeling on the floor she scratched Akamaru's head and petted his soft white fur. The little dog did look better than the previous visits he had with Kiba she noted.

"So how long have you known Hana," The boys discussion had turned away from sports when the ads cut on.

"We met in grade school, I grew up here," Itachi explained. "Hana and I ran into each other at the bus stop a few days ago."

"Strange way to meet a boyfriend," Kiba chuckled and nudged his sister with is foot.

"He's not my—"

"I know," Hana could hear the eye roll in his voice and caught a little smirk on Itachi's face. She glared at him from the corner of her eyes and he intentionally kept his focus on the TV. "So I bet you have some pretty funny stories about her childhood." Kiba's eyes were alight with curiosity and the prospect of new blackmail material.

"I didn't know her that well," Itachi confessed and Kiba's face fell. "But I do remember the time she had terrible poison ivy on her face. She tripped and fell down the hill beside the field right into a patch of it." Hana's face went red as she remembered the incident and Kiba laughed. "She was in the school play and…" Itachi tried to continue but he was cut off by a very angry woman.

"SHUT UP," Hana had jumped quickly to her feet and turned on her guest in full furry. Watching his sister struggle to cover Itachi's mouth Kiba burst into laughter and nearly fell off the couch gripping his sides. Akamaru even stuck his head out from under the table at the sound of his master's amusement. In their little fight Hana's elbow accidently hit Itachi's injured arm and for a moment she saw pain cross his face. She was grateful Kiba found them so hilarious so he didn't see the moment. Lying back against the couch with a huff she punched her brother's shoulder. "Stop laughing," she muttered and crossed her arms embarrassed. Itachi was smirking beside her but she could see how he held his arm gently. He was still in pain. Hana wanted to apologize but she couldn't with Kiba right beside them.

"I have got to get pictures of that from my mother," Kiba laughed. "Her next boyfriend will love it," Kiba added still chuckling.

"You had better not," Hana got an evil look and Kiba smiled sheepishly. "I am so going to kill you if you don't forget you ever hear that." She pulled her brother into a headlock and dug her knuckles into his head. Beside them Itachi smiled sadly.

"Finish your food," Hana ordered her brother when he pleaded and promised not to go after pictures. "Mom will be mad if you stay much later. "Did you bike here or did she drop you off." Kiba swallowed the last of his toast.

"She drove," he smiled.

"Well then I have to drive you home," Hana stood hunting around the papers and food containers on the table for her keys.

"But what about dessert?" her brother asked innocently.

"Dessert!" Her brown eyes widened in disbelief, "You cleaned me out Kiba. You ate the ice cream and the cookies before I even got back!" Kiba looked down guiltily.

"He helped," her little brother grumbled and looked over at Itachi who gave his hostess the most innocent and clueless face she was tempted to believe her brother had single handedly emptied her freezer.

"Doesn't matter," she told them both. "Fact is there isn't dessert. Get your stuff. I have homework to do and a book to read and a house to clean…"

"You never clean this place, you said you finished that book yesterday, and if you want to be alone with your boyfriend just—"

"He is not—"

"I know," Kiba rolled his eyes and grabbed his worn leather backpack. "See ya round," he called over his shoulder to Itachi who waved. Hana gave him a look before shutting the door and following her brother out, Akamaru far ahead of them both, eager to get out of the house.

* * *

Hana returned to find her guest in the same place he had been when she left, his eyes closed, television muted and his breathing even. Quietly she shut the door and took her seat on the floor trying not to disturb him.

"The police are watching your house," Itachi told his host, making her jump. "That's why I closed the blinds."

"Oh," she looked over at the window suspiciously, "Thanks."

"They won't be around for long and there aren't any bugs in the house," he assured her. Silence stretched for a while. "I assume you didn't like the puppy," Itachi commented.

"He was perfect but I just couldn't take care of a puppy right now," Hana laughed. "Do you like dogs?" she asked. Itachi shook his head.

"I prefer cats," he told her simply. Hana sighed to herself.

"If only you'd told my brother that. He might not be so insistent we're together," Hana picked up her bowl of soup.

"Your brother is a good kid," Itachi said suddenly. Hana looked up from the last of her dinner to meet his dark unreadable eyes.

"Yeah," She agreed smiling a little. "He's a trouble maker but he's good at heart. You had a little brother too didn't you?" she asked him remembering vaguely seeing him with a smaller dark haired boy after school. Itachi's face became more serious and sad at the mention of his sibling.

"Ah," Itachi answered, "We don't speak much anymore." Hana was surprised; Itachi didn't seem angry at his little brother, deeply sad and regretful about the whole subject she thought.

"I'm sorry," she whispered quietly. "I understand if it helps," she tried to say thinking about her parents.

"No matter how much you hate them," Itachi whispered, "or how much they hate you they'll still always be your family." Hana smiled and nodded, knowing he understood. Itachi just stared at the screen without seeing it lost in thought.

"What did he mean?" Her guest asked suddenly, "About Akamaru being uncomfortable in the house?" Hana felt her hand shake.

"To Akamaru this place still smells like Hato, Washi, and Suzune," Hana explained. He looked confused so she continued. "They were my dogs and Akamaru's brothers. I took care of them, triplets, since the day they were born. I was only five then." She saw Itachi looking at a picture frame beside him on the table. Behind the glass was her smiling face surrounded by the large gray dogs.

"You don't have to go on," he told her and met her eyes soft warm brown eyes with dark ones that said he understood. Shaking her head the brunet let a few stray tears run down her face over the red triangle tattoos.

"I should tell you," she confessed. "It's the real reason I took you in." Her guest stiffened in surprised but remained silent. "It was about two months ago just before Christmas. I was going out with some friends to a party and the host is allergic to dogs. I always took them with me. They were my protection. I never got in a car drunk because they wouldn't let me. When guys pestered me they would make a scene. Hato even bit a guy once when he got to close. But I left them home that night, just that one night." Hana took a deep breath before continuing.

"It was a thief, he'd been going through the neighborhood next to mine and the police were all over it. He saw my house and I don't know what went through his head but he broke in. What did he expect to find?" Hana gripped the table in anger as she remembered the hideous man's face and his greedy pale eyes.

"Hato was sleeping on the couch right where you are now and when the man came in he jumped up barking. The idiot got scared and pulled a gun. The bastard shot Hato before he could even get off the couch. Washi and Suzune came in from the kitchen. Washi took three bullets, clawed up the man's chest, arms, and face before collapsing. Suzune got his jaw around the arm that carried the gun and broke it clean before tearing it off. The bastard switched the gun to his left hand thought. Just as Suzune pulled that sick thief shot her in the head, right through the top of her skull. Washi pushed himself up and bit the guys leg breaking it viciously. When I came home he was lying in a poll of his own blood, the murderer, on my doorstep and my dogs were dead. I don't know what got into me but I called 911 and I tied off the man's wounds. I kept his heart going and the bleeding down till the rescue squad got there. I saved that bastards life and he took my brothers from me."

Hana knew there were tears running like streams down her face but she didn't care. It was clear in her voice all the hatred she felt for that man but she didn't care. "Hato, Washi, and Suzune were like a part of me. I can hardly remember my life before I had them. Now that they're gone…" Her voice trailed off. Looking up at Itachi with eyes rough as bark and hard as iron she asked him, "What do you do? What can you do when a piece of you is ripped out and you save the man still holding that bleeding part in his greedy grimy fingers, tearing it to shreds before your eyes?"

Hana searched his face for answers and to her his eyes didn't seem as dark there in the flickering light of the television. There was pity and understanding in those eyes. They were admiring eyes that said so much without ever saying anything at all. Itachi understood her pain and the loneliness she felt in the loss. He knew how the silence could be so deafening that it made anyone want to scream just to fill it. But screaming didn't bring back a loved one's voice and it didn't even block out the silence. "I'm sorry my 'kindness' wasn't even that or pity. It was more selfishness than anything else. I took you in simply because I was lonely. When I brought you hear you were nothing but a stray dog," Hana couldn't meet his eyes as she said it. She had to look down at the wood of the coffee table. Silently Itachi moved to sit next to her on the floor and took her hand in his. It was a simple silent gesture but it brought a rush of comfort to Hana. She realized how much she'd missed that simple contact.

Her dogs were always there around her. When she did her homework there was one by her feet or curled up against her side on the bed. They would burden down the couch beside her, Washi would put his head in her lap. There was just that simple comfort in physical contact that was a silent assurance. _You aren't alone. There are others here beside you._

"Thanks," Hana whispered to Itachi in the half darkness. "Just having some company is all I could ask for right now. Don't worry about owing me anything."

* * *

End Chapter 3

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[AN: well now we are getting somewhere. About the childhood story I wasn't sure what to put there. That actually happened to me, it was really embarrassing. The names of Hana's dogs were just Japanese words I got from an online translator, I don't remember exactly what they mean but you can look it up. They were never individually named in the series so I had to come up with something. The next chapter will be up in a week, so next Sunday. Thanks for reading and please review. -sel]


	4. Chapter 4: Amity

[AN: Before we get on I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter: Golden Horde, Meliko, Sasuke Itachi Fan, Chanvre Vert, and Tish. And a special thanks to anyone who reviewed on Monday. You made the beginning of the school week bearable. -sel]

* * *

Chapter 4: Amity

* * *

When Hana came into the kitchen the next morning Itachi was on a cell phone talking softly. When she entered he said a quick and businesslike goodbye before hanging up. Perplexed for a moment Hana could only stare at her guest.

"Good morning," he greeted. She nodded and headed in a beeline for the coffee pot. Itachi took his seat, a cup of tea wrapped in his long fingers.

"Cold," Hana commented feeling a change in the air. It was like a different scent that pervaded the house. Itachi nodded.

"It snowed last night," he motioned to the window. For the first time the brunet noticed the knee high drifts of snow that were covering the neighborhood. Just looking outside made Hana shiver from head to toes.

"I am not looking forward to the walk across campus," she shook her head. The coffee pot sputtered to life and Hana breathed a sigh. "So what was the call about?" she asked eyeing the silver phone on the table.

"Work," he responded cryptically, "I had to explain my situation. My colleges will be working on a diversion in the next week or so to throw the police of my trail for a while. I told them I was safe but unable to move anywhere and recovering from an injury."

"How is your arm?" she asked him moving closer to inspect the stitches. Satisfied with the healing Hana cautioned him about moving his arm too much or lifting anything heavy for a while. They both scrounged up breakfast from the toast and fruit in Hana's fridge before settling down to a quiet morning. With a half empty cup of coffee Hana resigned herself to struggling through the last of her chemistry homework before running off to her anatomy class. Just as the night before, the letters and numbers jumped over the page like windblown snowflakes making no sense at all.

"Ugh… I don't get this at all," Hana dropped her head on the table.

"May I?" Itachi asked politely, setting down the newspaper and reaching for her homework.

"If you can read my chicken scratch," she mumbled before finishing the last of her coffee.

"How can you drink that?" he asked her as his pencil flew across the page.

"What do you mean?" she asked looking from him to the dark dregs left in her cup.

"Plain Coffee," He paused in his writing, looking over his work he reached for the steaming tea cup. "Doesn't it taste like watery acid?" he asked her. Hana was appalled.

"Coffee is the only thing that has kept me going through med school," she informed him. A small smile spread over his face.

"Did you know I wanted to be a doctor?" he asked her. "It's a little ironic how my life is… so far from that path," He handed back the paper. Hana was amazed to find he had broken down the problem clearly and solved it, labeling every step and action.

"Wow," she managed to force out, "Thanks." Itachi shrugged, as if trying not to draw attention to his knowledge. Hana was curious thought and pressed him. "How do you know organic chemistry?" she asked.

"When I have free time I read up on anything that interests me," Itachi was watching his tea very intently as he spoke. "I was always a quick study, that's why I'm so good at what I do." Hana felt a surge of admiration. Anyone who could study organic chemistry for fun was a freak of nature and a genius sent from god all at the same time. Shaking her head at the absurdity of it Hana tried to finish the last few problems using his neat work as a guideline.

"Don't suppose you could just do my homework for me?" She asked reaching for her cup only to find it empty.

"No," Itachi chuckled and stood taking her mug as he passed, "That wouldn't be fair to your class mates." She watched him over her shoulder with one eyebrow raised as he poured coffee into the dark green cup.

"So you'll steal, lie, and hack for a terrorist organization but you won't cheat on homework?" she couldn't believe that. Itachi just smirked.

"We all have lines we don't cross," was his cryptic answer. Hana had the feeling that there was more to his statement, it was somehow deeply important to him in a way she would never know. In that moment, as he handed her a refilled cup with a small smile she didn't believe he could be a criminal at all.

"You are the weirdest person I have ever met," She told her guest truthfully and returned to her work in a huff. Itachi watched Hana, thinking that maybe his life might have been something like hers if…. Immediately he threw off that thought. _It can't be helped,_ he told himself.

"What classes do you have today?" Itachi asked to distract himself.

"Anatomy," she groaned. "Then I have to work at the clinic so I won't be back till late tonight. I think I'm running out of food so we'll order Pizza if that's ok."

"I can't remember the last time I had Pizza," Itachi commented behind her. The brunet Inuzuka turned around in complete shock.

"You are a poor deprived soul," Hana told him in the most serious voice he had yet to hear from her. He was somewhat taken aback by her strong reaction.

"Is there something special about Pizza?" Itachi cocked his head to the side.

"You have obviously never had Pizza at the Korner," she grumbled. "Just you wait."

So Hana waited all day, fidgeting through Professor Asuma's lecture and hurrying through her work at the clinic, always thinking about the Police watching her house, Pizza dinner, and the unfinished chem, homework due the next day. For some reason the day seemed longer than usual. Only a week ago she had been spending every spare minuet of her time among the stray and injured animals at the clinic or shoulder high in books at the library, returning to her house only to sleep. But the recently empty rooms were no longer silent and lonely. Hana sill missed her child hood companions but she wasn't alone anymore. It made the ache bearable. So she was excited instead of resigned when she returned home with a large flat pizza box at the end of the day.

"So?" she asked Itachi as they sat down on the faded couch to eat pizza before the flickering television. "What did you do today besides stay away from the windows?" Her guest shrugged and helped himself to a slice of greasy pizza.

"I watched some cop show…" He started but didn't get to finish.

"Criminals watch cop shows?" she asked incredulously.

"It's fun to laugh at the over exaggerated situations and idealization," he smiled and took a bite of pizza. Hana laughed and muted a loud commercial.

"And the rest of the time?" she asked.

"I read your Psychology textbook," he motioned to the open book on the coffee table, half buried under the greasy box.

"I couldn't stand that subject," Hana grinned with a wicked spark in her eye. "Just proves I like animals more than people. They're simple. Dogs don't lie, they have no motives, or grudges, or complexes. Humans think too much." She tore a chunk of Pizza off and glared at the book as if she could burn holes in it from where she sat. From the corner of her eye she saw Itachi shake his head. "What?" she asked defensively.

"Nothing," he waved it off, "I just agree." Itachi kept his focus on the TV but he still caught Hana's smirk.

"What do you think?" she asked suddenly and Itachi was a little confused. "About the Pizza," his hostess clarified.

"It's just the way I remember it: greasy," he turned the crust over in his hand, "but you're right. This is the best pizza I've ever had." Hana smirked in silent victory.

Days passed with little variation. Mornings were always a war between the best caffeinated drinks and evenings they sat in front of the TV with their dinner and just talked. Itachi turned out to be very knowledgeable about most things and interested in anything he didn't know. She returned often to find him with his head buried in one of her textbooks or even reading over her lecture notes. How he managed to decipher her handwriting was still a mystery. Hana had her hands full with school assignment and work at the clinic leaving little time or energy for much else. Jen called at least twice more about this or that dog Hana should adopt, not knowing Hana had already taken in a stray of sorts. Before the brunet vet in training or her fugitive tenant knew it a week had passed. Hana realized this as she was sitting before the television, carefully removing the last of the stitches in Itachi's arm. They were situated in their usual places on the pale couch and Hana was surprised to hear a familiar name on the seven o'clock news that flickered across the screen.

"… believed to be the work of a pro, the heist is ranked as the second largest in the last twenty years and the first in the past eight. The bank estimates that a minimum of 70 million dollars was stolen. The elusive thief managed to avoid all of the bank security and was only caught on camera once for three seconds. Despite the little they had to work with, the Police were able to pull this photo from the security servers." A blurry zoom in on a dark black and white frame flashed up on the screen. "The thief has been identified as the notorious criminal, Uchiha Itachi. The people of Konoha can sleep easy tonight knowing that the fugitive is no longer lurking in the cities shadows as police have suspected for the past week. Baffling experts around the world, the famous Uchiha has managed to avoid the police nets and escaped his home town undetected. Detective Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha PD says his team did everything they could, putting their hearts into the search and their lives on the line to find this criminal but in the end it just wasn't enough. He wishes good luck to the Suna Police in their efforts to retrieve the stolen money and bring Uchiha Itachi to justice. I'm Marie Gray reporting from Suna." Hana turned to stare open mouthed at her guest. Itachi was still focused on the screen his eyes wide in shock and his hands balled in tight fists.

"You robbed a bank?" she asked in confusion dropping her tweezers. "When did you have time to do that?" Itachi shook his head.

"Kakuzu," he muttered. Hana had no idea what that meant but she was appalled.

"70 MILLION DOLLARS?"

"He is a little excessive," Itachi admitted calmly though his fists were still tight. "I would have preferred if his diversion had been a little more discreet, but I suppose it wouldn't be a diversion if it was."

"Itachi?" Hana was still wide eyed. He took a moment before turning to answer her.

"A college of mine framed me for robbing a bank to knock them off my trail. He'll move the money around and spread enough rumors to make it sound real then disappears, just as it will appear I have done here. This will get the Police off your back and give me a way out, but he went a little over the top." Itachi seemed to relax as he explained. Hana could tell it was forced.

"You have insane friends," She commented, trying not to think who might have been hurt during that robbery.

"They are business associates and nothing more," Itachi stated bluntly, "There is no connection between the members of the organization I work for. I have never even met them all in person." Itachi said without care.

"Do you hate them that much?" Hana asked curiously, reaching for a soda can on the table. Itachi's piercing gaze made her freeze.

"Hate is too light a word," he said in a flat voice. She shivered visibly and left the drink where it was. Neither of them mentioned the 'diversion' again or who Itachi worked for. Hana understood Itachi didn't want to talk about it and she wasn't going to push him. But that night, lying awake in the glow of the street lamps, she thought about what he'd said and again got the feeling he wasn't who the public believed him to be. Especially after 'his record breaking bank robbery' Itachi was a very different person then the press and police would have you believe.

* * *

The next morning Hana was unwilling to get out of bed. She rolled over when the sun hit her face and buried herself under the warm blankets. In the thick stuffy darkness they created Hana was drifting back into sleep when a familiar ring tone, muffled by the feather comforter and the walls of her house, reached her ears. Hazily she jumped out of bed and threw open her half closed door. Itachi stood just past her doorway, the black phone in his hand still playing the annoying ringtone loud enough to wake the dead. Hana realized first that her guest was at least three inches taller than she was and secondly that he wasn't wearing a shirt. Her eyes betrayed her for a split second and her face turned bright red. In the next moment she realized she was wearing only underwear and a large very thin T-shirt. Her ears feeling hot she snatched the phone and closed the door with a resounding slam flipping open her phone she answered breathlessly right before it went to the message service.

"Hello."

"_**Hi sis,"**_ Kiba sounded happier than usual, _**"sorry to call so early on a Saturday. Did I interrupt you and your new—"**_

"Shut the hell up, Kiba," Hana knew her cheeks were almost the color of her tattoos if not darker. On the other end the younger Inuzuka was laughing his head off.

"_**Whatever sis,"**_ He shrugged off her protests, "_**Just wondering if I should tell mom we have an extra guest tonight." **_Hana internally panicked. It was Saturday, the day she always ate dinner with her mom and brother. Hana had made the promise when she moved back after four years at The University of Fire a fifteen hour drive from Konoha. Now she realized her brother was trying to introduce Itachi to their mother using that promise in hopes it would ease the crumbling mother-daughter-relationship. After the deaths of Hato, Suzune, and Washi Tsume had been less than comforting and helpful to her daughter causing bad blood between them. If her boyfriend had been a respectable young college student, a doctor in training perhaps, Tsume's fears for her eldest child might be lifted and a chance at a peace might possibly show up. This was what Kiba wanted to accomplish by introducing Tsume to a wanted criminal. Hana's mother, always perceptive, informed, and cautious Tsume Inuzuka, could not, under any circumstances, meet Itachi. It would spell doom, not only for him, but for her as well. The harsh woman would never forgive her daughter for harboring a fugitive, much less one as notorious as Itachi.

"NO," Hana said just a bit too forcefully.

"_**But I already told her he was coming," **_Kiba whined. Her mischievous little brother was backing her into a corner now.

"He's sick," She blabbed in desperation. "It's contagious and he can't come."

"_**Right,"**_ Kiba's smirk was clear in his voice. _**"If he was sick, which he isn't, you would have called me the moment you found out to make sure I wasn't sick. And how come you haven't caught it. I mean you two being so close and—"**_

"For the last time Kiba," Hana just wanted to hang up the phone right that moment. "Just tell mom something. He had homework or a previous engagement. But he isn't coming."

"_**Fine, fine,"**_ Her little brother gave in, disappointed. _**"Why are you so against us meeting him anyway?"**_ Hana felt the urge to bang her head against the closest hard surface.

"It's nothing Kiba. I'll see you tonight," Hana told her little brother sternly trying to put a note of finality in her voice.

"_**Yeah yeah,"**_ He replied. _**"Bring more of that ice cream it was good. See ya then."**_ With that he hung up and Hana sighed in relief. As soon as the breath left her body the memory of nearly running headlong into a half naked Itachi jumped into her mind. The deep blush came back and she smiled a little to herself. _He doesn't look half bad shirtless,_ she noted. A little part of her mind cried out at the understatement and relished in the memory. Shaking her head Hana tried to forget that image long enough to get dressed. Throwing her running shoes, summer sandals, romance novels and old scrap book aside she located a pair of clean sweat pants and a deep purple hoodie, a present from her friend at The Kumo Technical Institute.

Now properly dressed Hana came out into the living room. The small voice in the back of her mind cried when she saw Itachi laying, fully clothed, on the couch with Hana's psychology textbook propped up on his knee. Cursing that voice Hana tried to pretend nothing had happened.

"Sorry about the phone call. I hope my idiot brother didn't wake you," she told him dropping the offensive black device in the chair where her backpack and coat where haphazardly resting. "Kiba isn't very thoughtful."

"It's fine," he smiled sincerely, "I don't like to sleep in." She looked at him as if he'd grown a third eye and wandered into the kitchen shaking her head. Thoughtlessly she made coffee, hoping it would wake her up a little and help her concentrate on something other than her criminal boarder half dressed in her doorway.

"What was he calling about?" Itachi's voice made her jump and spin around. Breathing hard she looked down in embarrassment.

"I said don't scare me like that," she accused only to get a shrug in response. It seemed to be his favorite way to answer her. "I promised to eat dinner with him and my mother every Saturday," Hana continued answering his question, "He was wondering if you were going to be there."Itachi seemed to have the same thoughts Hana did at the suggestion.

"I don't think that would be a good idea," He told her cautiously and Hana nodded her agreement. "Not that I wouldn't like to meet the rest of your family," He added as if he thought the first statement would offend her, "but it wouldn't be wise after the stunt my college pulled." Hana nodded again.

"I told Kiba not to expect you and he'll give my mom some kind of excuse," Hana returned her attention to the coffee pot behind her. "What do you want to do for the day? I don't have classes so we have some time to kill."

"Anything you want," she could hear a smile in his voice.

"I want to go back to sleep in my nice warm bed," Hana groaned.

"You can," he told her, "It is the weekend." The brunet just shook her head.

"That wouldn't be polite," she tapped the coffee pot in impatience.

"I don't know if rules of etiquette really apply in my case," Itachi was smirking. "You know you look hilarious standing there as if your life depends on that coffee pot." Hana only turned to glare at him. They were headed for the inevitable caffeine dispute again. "There's a hot cup in the microwave." His eyes glinted and she knew he was laughing inside. With another glare she retrieved the heavenly mug of dark liquid.

"Thanks," Hana admitted sinking into her chair and pushing away lose papers and other junk to clear a space for her cup. "Man this table is cluttered. Just like my whole house," Hana muttered looked around at the assortment of junk pilled on every surface, not excluding the floor. "Sorry this place is such a mess," she leaned back in her chair to stretch, "I hope it doesn't bother you." Itachi shook his head. "That's what I should do today! Clean this filthy house," Hana was surprised at herself. She wasn't known to clean but her house had gotten to a terrible state in her depression after the death of her dogs. Now it was more of big rat's nest than anything else. Itachi insisted on helping. Together they managed to clear out the cluttered kitchen. Hana grumbled through the dirty dishes and over flowing trashcan but finishing she felt better with the completion of each task. The place was by no means sparkling but it was possible to walk from the living room to the side door across the room without having to kick something out of your way. The only things that remained on the floor were the dog bowls she couldn't bring herself to move. Moving on to the living room the challenge was somewhat greater. Hana had dumped anything she brought into the house there creating a pile of useless or simply forgotten items. Hana found two books she had checked out of the public library and simply lost, a copy of an assignment she hadn't turned in, and scarf under the couch she'd been missing. Itachi found all of her little discoveries amusing. Sitting in her normal place on the couch Hana went through a stack of random papers Itachi had found around the trunk by the door while he wandered around the room picking up random items that had found their way to the floor.

"You have an interesting movie collection," He commented and Hana turned to look at the stacks of DVDs that were jammed haphazardly into the white painted bookshelf.

"Most of them are my old roommates, but she said she'd come get them when her boyfriend got a bigger apartment. I don't think she likes him that much, she'd have taken them if she was that serious about the relationship." Hana returned to the heavy stack before her. Behind the couch she heard Itachi moving them around but decided to let it go.

"I never saw this," he seemed to comment to himself. Giving in to her laziness Hana dumped the stack on the coffee table, where for the first time in a month the wood was visible.

"Come on," bending over the back of the couch Hana snatched the thin case from his hands and headed for the TV.

"You watch movies at noon?" He asked sounding only slightly surprised.

"It's Saturday," Hana protested. With the room only half clean the two of them sat down to watch the movie. It was a sad story of a young girl who was murdered by her neighbor and couldn't go on to heaven till he was caught. The movie was both uplifting and depressing at the same time as well as visually beautiful. Hana had honestly never watched it before and found herself crying at the end.

"I am never watching that again," She declared as the credits rolled. "I hate sad movies! They always make me cry!" Turning to Itachi she saw that he looked completely lost in thought. "You ok?" she asked. He just nodded.

"Sorry," he smiled a little fake smile, seeming to pull himself from his thoughts, "You pick the next one." Hana nodded and jumped up happily. She rummaged through the mess of plastic cases for an interesting title, preferably a comedy.

"What do you think it will be like to die?" Itachi asked her suddenly and absentmindedly. Hana could only stare back for a moment wondering where the question had come from.

"I don't know," she answered. "I would guess painful. Every part of your body shuts down individually so depending on what kills you it may be quite painful. If your mind is still working then you can remain conscious but dead for thirty seconds before actually dying. But death is strange. Some patients, who die and are brought back, say that death is exhilarating and wonderful but I don't know if that really _is_ death. The mind dies, physically there's nothing after that. No heaven or paradise just… nothing. Scary thought," She looked over at the back of Itachi's head. His shoulders looked tense and just too still. "What do you think?"

"I try not to," He admitted after a pause. His answer seemed somehow scarier than hers.

"Here," she handed him another video, "Something a little lighter." He read the title and gave her a raised eyebrow.

"British comedy?" he asked. Hana shrugged.

"It's one of my brother and his friends' favorites," Itachi rolled his eyes but complied and put the DVD in the player without protest. Like always the stupidity of two men arguing over the air speed velocity of swallows and how coconuts got to England lightened the mood considerably. Itachi even smiled at the movie while Hana nearly got a cramp from laughing. When it finished Hana suggested going back to work but promptly got up to pick another movie. Itachi made a surprising request over his shoulder explaining it was the last in a series and the only one he hadn't seen. So they sat through an old sci-fi film, a classic about a revolution against oppressive government. At the end the protagonist kills his father, the Big-Bad's right hand man and feels extremely conflicted about it afterward. Still it ended happily with revolution victory. When the credits came on and the well known theme played Hana decided she'd find the others when she had a spare moment.

"Not a bad movie," she told him as she gathered the cases to put away.

"No," Itachi agreed. "But it bothers me. Wouldn't it have been better if Luke never knew the identity of his father? The secret would have died with Darth Vader?" Hana looked back at him in confusion.

"That would totally ruin the plot of the movie though," she exclaimed. Itachi looked off past her in thought. "But yeah I guess you're right," she shrugged. "What does it matter?" Itachi didn't answer.

"What time is your brother expecting you?" he asked casually.

"Around six," Hana stuffed the DVD's on the crowded bookshelf.

"You're late," he informed her, picking up the psychology textbook again.

"SHIT!" Hana rushed to her room to get dressed and ran out the door a few minutes later pulling her chocolate colored hair into a ponytail. "Mom is going to kill me," she muttered grabbing keys and purse before waving to her guest and disappearing through the front door.

She didn't see Itachi's sad look and she didn't notice the way his lips pulled down in a frown. If Itachi had been honest with himself he was jealous of Hana. She had a family to visit on the weekends, a little brother who would laugh and joke with her, and friends who liked her for her personality instead of her skills. But Itachi wouldn't let himself think about those things. He had given them up a long time ago.

* * *

End Chapter 4

* * *

[AN: the movies I mentioned in this chapter were The Lovely Bones, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (if the swallows didn't explain that) and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (which you should all know even if you've never seen the movie). None of which I own, want to own, will ever own, or am claiming to own. *cries* only one more chapter left. Like always it'll be up on Sunday. Hope you enjoy my story –sel Please Review]


	5. Chapter 5:Passion Epilogue:Death

[AN: A big thanks for all my reviewers: melioko, Echo Uchiha, Chanvre Vert, GoldenHorde, and bladz-liska. You're awesome! –sel]

* * *

Chapter 5: Passion

* * *

"You're late," Tsume complained from the kitchen at the end of the hall when her daughter opened the door. Hana's eyes widened and she mentally hit herself for losing track of time.

"Sorry mom," she called, "Hey Kiba." Her little brother was playing tug o war with Akamaru on the living room floor.

"Hey," he waved. "Mom made lasagna," he informed her pulling the little white dog about six inches across the carpet. Akamaru refused to give up the chew toy and held firm. Hana remembered playing the same game with her dogs only they would gang up and all pull against her. Sitting down with them Hana smacked her brother's hand and laughed as Akamaru ran into the kitchen with his prize.

"Hana!" he cried out looked betrayed. She just laughed.

"What did you tell mom?" Hana asked her little brother in a whisper. Kiba grinned from ear to ear.

"Nothing," his eyes glinted evilly and Hana could only glare daggers.

"So where's this elusive boy?" Tsume asked her daughter from where she stood over the children in the doorway of the kitchen. Hana felt a bead of sweet form on her temple and fought back the urge to gulp.

"He couldn't make it tonight," she smiled forcefully and Tsume's hard look turned into a glare.

"Well next time call and tell me before you get here," The woman scolded her daughter. Hana looked as innocent as she could, which wasn't very.

"I thought Kiba had already told you he couldn't make it. I told him before I came," she explained. Tsume sent a glare at her son who was glaring at his sister who smirked.

"Food is ready. Come eat," The dark haired woman disappeared back into the kitchen and the two siblings heard the banging of dirty pots as their mother vented frustration. The meal was quiet for the most part besides necessary 'pass this or that'. Hana had to admit that her mother wasn't a bad cook, not gourmet but very edible. That night it tasted just a little blander than usual though as if the oppressive quiet was sinking into the food.

"So who is this boy?" Tsume asked her daughter. "Kiba said you picked him up off the street." Hana flinched when the silence broke and looked over at her brother.

"He's an old friend from elementary school," she explained.

"Not an old boyfriend I would hope," Tsume asked stabbing a piece of her salad with more force than necessary.

"Of course not," Hana assured her mother and cut her lasagna a little too vigorously than was needed.

"I'm surprised you still take in strays," Tsume cautioned.

"He just needs a place to stay for a few days till he can get a flight home," Hana kept her eyes down.

"Well I hope you don't get too attached," her mother's voice was tense.

"He's not my boyfriend," Hana told the occupants of the table firmly.

"Well who is he?" Tsume continued.

"A Med student from Kumo Tech."

"He doesn't sound like a med student according to Kiba." Hana cursed her brother's untimely observance though Itachi's bruises had been quite clear when Kiba saw him. By now the worst had faded and the rest were gone completely.

"He had a run in with some less than kind people," it wasn't a complete lie.

"humf," Tsume didn't believe her daughter.

"So what is he doing in Konoha?" she asked. Hana searched for an excuse.

"His flight got canceled," she lied.

"Coming from where?"

"Suna," Hana responded, pulling a place from her mind desperately.

"What was he doing there?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Because I asked?"

"He has the right to some privacy."

"He's living with my daughter I have the right to ask questions."

"I'm twenty five I don't need someone watching over my shoulder and judging my friends."

"You don't act twenty five."

"I don't act like a clueless nineteen year old."

"You don't even have a proper lock on your door, you are as irresponsible as your younger brother."

"My lock works fine," Hana knew the conversation was turning away from Itachi now.

"Apparently not. The fact that you disregard this is only proof. You need someone watching over you."

"I'm fine on my own."

"Really?" Tsume leaned back in her chair glaring at her daughter with an amused but angry grin. "Is that why you don't talk to us anymore? Why you hate being around your family? Why your friends never hear from you or why you dumped your last boyfriend without explanation?" Hana stood suddenly throwing down her knife and fork. She refused to look at her mother.

"See ya, Kiba. I have to go," She gave her younger brother a half hug and a kiss before scratching Akamaru's ears and heading for the hall.

Tsume yelled at her daughter as she left, "do not think you can walk out on your family just like that—"

"I'm not walking out on my family," Hana turned to look her mother in the face. "You're still mad at me about Hato, Suzune, and Washi. You blame me." The young woman didn't need to wait for an answer. She could see the confirmation in her mother's eyes. Hana grabbed her coat off the hook beside the door and rushed out into the frozen night air without putting it on, feeling tears running down her cheeks.

* * *

Hana came in cold and angry. She threw her coat on the couch and grabbed the first thing she could lay her hands on. The TV remote spun across the room to smash into the opposite wall and shatter into pieces of rubber and plastic.

"I hate her!" Hana screamed, feeling warm tears on her cheeks. Looking utterly confused Itachi rushed out of the bathroom his hair wet, pulling a shirt on.

"Hana?" he asked in shock. She turned away and stormed back to slam the door shut violently. He could swear the house moved when the thick wood crashed back into its frame.

"I hate that woman," The brunet continued quieter, leaning against the closed door. "She judges you without ever having met you and thinks she can judge me in the same hypocritical breath. She doesn't care about me. All she cares about is the daughter she should have had. A bitter foul tempered daughter who hates humanity just as much as she does. She hates me because I'm not her. She hates me 'cause I let her down. She hates me 'cause he thinks it's my fault… she blames me. She blames me for Hato, Suzune, and Washi's death." Hana turned around and stormed toward her room. Itachi stopped her reaching out and grabbing her shoulders. "Please Itachi… I just…" her voice was soft and broken. The tears started again feeling like fire on her skin. "My mother," she explained lamely and tried to pull away. His hands were firm and strong on her shoulders. Hana couldn't meet his eyes. She didn't want to look there and find pity, disappointment, or exasperation. She didn't want to see that he was sorry for her loss or disappointed that she wasn't strong enough to pull through or exasperated with her childishness. Hana just wanted to be alone to curl up with her dogs' warm bodies around her and cry. Itachi wrapped the brunet in his arms and just held her calmly. She was so surprised by the action her tears stopped for an instant.

"She doesn't hate you, she could never hate you," Itachi whispered in her ear. "She's your mother and you are her only daughter. No matter how much she thinks you have screwed up she can't hate you."

"But…" Hana couldn't finish she just buried her face in his shirt.

"It's alright," he tried to say.

"No it isn't!" Hana pushed him away but his arms were unforgiving. "They aren't just injured or missing or lost Itachi. They're dead. There isn't anything after that. It's the end. That's it. Nothing more. They can't come back. She blames me, Itachi. It's not something I can fix. No matter how hard I try I can't… I didn't… I couldn't do anything."

"I know," His voice was calm and sure, "I know that sometimes you can only do so much for the ones you love, and it's painful. It's the worst feeling in the world. And I know saving someone that has harmed you is the hardest thing in the world. It takes more courage than most people will ever have. To see past so much hate is something they just can't do. Hatred is easy… forgiveness is hard. Hana, trust me I know. Your mother can't blame you for what happened, but she can't accept what you did. She is still hurt. She still hates that man you saved. She can't see past that hate yet. So don't blame yourself for things you didn't cause or couldn't help. You did what was right even if it was the hardest path to take." He held her close in his warm embrace feeling how cold she was from the winter night air. "You have far more strength than anyone I have ever met," his lips were right next to her ear, his breath warm and reassuring on her neck, "and she will see that one day."

Hana let all the tears and anger out. She let out anger at herself, at her mother, at the thief, and at the world. She cried out all the pain of disappointing her mother, letting down her dogs, saving that killer, and the loss of her companions. She felt all the emptiness she'd been running from settling in. She was suddenly very small in a very big dark world but there in Itachi's arms she wasn't alone, he was there beside her in the darkness. Itachi sat with Hana on the couch that night till she couldn't cry anymore and drifted off to sleep in his embrace.

* * *

Hana woke up late the next morning wondering why the room was so dark. Slowly her eyes opened and she looked up at the cracked water stained ceiling wondering why it looked wrong. Her back felt stiff and there was the filmy feeling of having salt dried onto her cheeks. _I was crying, _she remembered vaguely and closed her eyes again trying to recall why. The smell of coffee reached her nose from the kitchen and Hana perked up. The previous night came flooding back in waves. The cracked ceiling was wrong because it was the living room and her back was stiff from sleeping on the couch.

Still stretching and groaning Hana wandered aimlessly into the kitchen. Itachi was there in his usual seat with the newspaper looking somewhat bothered. His tea sat still steaming and apparently untouched beside him.

"Good morning," he greeted her without looking up. Hana could only collect herself enough to nod. "Coffee is in the pot," he smiled up at her, making a warm pick blush rise to her cheeks.

"Thanks," the mumbled gratitude didn't cover how appreciative she really was it was just that Hana couldn't stop thinking about everything he'd said the night before. They sat for a long time in silence, a comfortable silence as they each enjoyed their caffeinated beverages. Breathing deeply Hana resigned herself to the awkward conversation that was bound to come up. "About last night…." She started.

"It's alright," Itachi offered as soon as the words were passed her lips. I hope you don't mind that I slept in your bed," he smiled over his cup at her. Hana laughed a little.

"No, I took yours anyway," she rubbed a particularly painful crick in her back, "How have you survived sleeping on that for a week?" she asked in wonder. He just shook his head.

"I assure you I have slept on worse," He folded the paper and set it neatly before him so it looked as though it had just been unrolled. "It seems the distraction wasn't necessary." His voice became tight and just perceptibly strained. "Detective Uzumaki has become preoccupied with another case. I should be able to leave safely now." Hana cocked her head to the side curious what would bother him so much.

"What's this new case?" she pressed. Itachi motioned to the paper. It was all across the front.

_**Notorious Criminal Orochimaru Found Dead. **_

_**Sasuke Uchiha Revealed To Be The Prime Suspect. **_

"Your brother?" she could only stare dumbstruck at the photos decorating the page. One was an older pale man with long dark hair resembling Michele Jackson and the other was a mug shot of a depressed looking teen that strongly resembled Itachi.

"He was once a cop in Detective Uzumaki's team," Her guest explained, "He left about five years ago in search of the man who killed his parents, annoyed with the restraints of the law." Hana had a sinking feeling in her gut as Itachi explained. "Naruto will follow any hint at a new lead if it means getting closer to Sasuke. That is the only reason he was concentrating so hard on finding me. I have a friend in the area that can come pick me up," Itachi continued, "I won't be bothering you anymore."

"You aren't bothering me," Hana insisted. "I like having you around. Though I can understand why you would want to get off my couch."

"My friend is driving in from out of town and won't be here till this evening so I'm not running off."

"Well then would you like to finish cleaning the living room or continue our movie marathon?" She emptied the last of her coffee.

"It's your turn to pick so I'm tempted to finish cleaning—"

"My movie choices aren't bad!" she insisted.

They watched a movie about an American army officer who is kidnapped while fighting in Japan and learns to be as samurai. Itachi admitted to liking the movie but something about how it ended bothered him. He then picked an animated film about two children in World War II Japan that made Hana cry more than once. She cursed him for choosing it and chose a comedy next. So they spent the day watching movies and sharing opinions. The time went by fast because Hana and Itachi would get caught up talking after a movie. Kiba came bursting in around noon with Akamaru, out of breath because he'd biked over from his volunteer job training Seeing Eye dogs. Seeing her little brother red cheeked and rubbing his hands together from the cold winter wind Hana disappeared into the kitchen to heat coffee.

"So… is she ok?" Kiba asked Itachi the moment his sister was out of hearing range. Itachi looked up at the younger boy with a confused face.

"I don't know why you would ask," he replied. Kiba looked skeptical.

"Didn't she tell you about her big fight with our mom?"

"Yes," Itachi nodded and looked at the rolling credits of the comedy the two had just finished. "She's better this morning then she was last night."

"Good, I was worried she might come home and throw a fit," Kiba sank onto the couch letting snow fall from his coat and hair onto the cushions. "When she gets mad she breaks things and – well…"

"Kiba get off the couch you're covered in snow!" Hana exclaimed and shooed him away. Her brother jumped up and out of her way only succeeding in dropping more snow over the chair beside him.

"So what's up sis?" Kiba asked seating himself in the armchair that was now dusted with wet droplets, out of his sister's reach.

"Just watching movies and no you can't stay," Hana glared at him, he was intruding on her last day with Itachi. "I should really kick you out now for just waltzing in without even knocking." Kiba chuckled.

"But you won't," He jumped up again as Hana moved to punch him. Akamaru yipped and ran around his master's feet happily before shooting over to the trunk by the door and pulling down Kiba's backpack to drag before the coffee table.

"Oh yeah," the brunet boy remembered something as the little dog pulled the heavy bag across the wood floor and reached down to take the well used leather backpack from the puppy. "I talked to Jen, she was worried about you." Hana rolled her eyes. "I told her you were spending the day with your new boyfriend and don't say it." Kiba could see she was about to protest, his sister had a murderous gleam in her eye. "She said you two should watch this," He produced a DVD case from his bag. "She left it at work for me to pass on." Hana shook her head. It was a tradition Jen had to watch Titanic with every boyfriend she ever had and Hana's former roommate had kept to it with all but one she said 'wasn't worth showing it to' and promptly dumped. Itachi didn't seem to recognize the film.

"Have fun love birds," Kiba jumped up and ducking an empty DVD case that flew centimeters away from his head and left with a wave. Itachi smiled a little as Hana fumed and the door swung shut behind the brunet.

"Little brothers are so annoying," she hissed.

"Did you miss him when you went off to college?" Itachi asked thoughtfully. Hana turned in surprise at the question.

"Of course I did, no matter how infuriating he is," Hana looked him over curiously. Then cautiously she asked "Do you miss Sasuke?"

"Yeah," he didn't meet her eyes but she could still see the pain just below the surface.

"Well, your pick," she laughed and picked up the coffee Kiba hadn't stayed to drink. "No more depressing stuff."

* * *

They found nothing of interest on the shelves so the two turned to channel flipping. They didn't watch anything all the way through or even pay attention to the TV it just became background noise. When evening rolled around Hana ordered pizza from the Korner store like they had a week ago and they settled down to watch the tragic love story of a high class woman who wanted nothing but freedom and a poor artist who showed her for four short days just that. When the movie closed the light of the streetlamps was bright against the pitch darkness of the night. Hana whipped her eyes and laughed a little sounding strangled.

"Man, you must think I'm such a sap," she smiled at him in the glow of the screen. Itachi just shook his head.

"It's a sad story," he closed his eyes, deep in thought for a moment. "I hate tragedies." Itachi shifted uncomfortably. "You know Jack never believed he would live through the sinking. When the ship went down he knew he wasn't getting out of the water. But he made Rose promise…" Itachi was watching the screen intently. "… love is cruel." Hana smiled sadly at his words.

"I never really took this movie seriously," she told him. "It was just another Romeo and Juliet, an impossible story based in over hyped shallow love. I didn't think much of Romeo, or love at first sight. I never thought that someone could fall in love so completely so quickly and just know….Four days together on a cruise liner doesn't seem like enough time. Neither does…." She trailed off, unsure what she was about to say.

"… one week sleeping on a strangers couch," Itachi whispered. Hana nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry for Rose now," Hana whispered knowing how close he was and feeling the darkness around them.

"I never thought I would pity Romeo," Itachi slid an arm around her shoulder slowly and gently pulled her close. Hana leaned against his shoulder feeling his head resting against hers and slid her arm around his waist. For a long time they sat there just like that, unwilling to move, hands clasped on his knee, wrapped in each other's arms. The credits finished and the main menu returned but neither of them turned off the TV. Hana didn't even notice. She was going over the past week in her head, since she saw the dark figure in the bus shelter and the red snow at his feet. _When did this happen? _She wondered. _When did I fall in love with Itachi?_ But it didn't matter. Thinking back she wondered if she didn't always love him. When he hadn't even spoken she knew he was a person she could trust. When she found out he was criminal it didn't change his welcome in her home. Never once did she doubt him and never once did he let her down. Itachi was the friend she needed when the silence was overpowering and the support she needed when the thing she hated most was herself.

A realization made Hana freeze and tense up. It hit her then that Itachi was leaving that night, perhaps in just a few minutes. Soon he would walk through her door and be gone from her life. She would never see his face again, the small smirks, the quizzical amusement, sad reminiscence or wake up to a pot of coffee fixed by someone who cares nothing for the stuff. Itachi would walk out of her life, just as quickly as she had dropped into his. Hana didn't want that, she didn't want him to go. Letting herself admit that she realized she never wanted him to leave. If right now she had been trapped on a sinking ship she would have gone back into the flooded halls to find him or drank a poison that might kill her not to be separated from him. A vibration in his pocket, that was pressed against her leg made them both jump slightly. Itachi pulled out a small silver phone quickly releasing her shoulder but not her hand. She could see over his shoulder the text he had just received.

_**At that bar you like**_

_**Our rich friend is paying **_

_**Coming?**_

Hana didn't know what the message meant but looking at Itachi's face she saw reluctance and resignation.

"What does it mean?" she asked him, fearing the time had come.

"It means my partner is in town and ready to pick me up," Itachi pressed the reply button. "I have to go." The statement was simple but Hana could hear something in his voice that was different.

"Stay?" she knew it sounded small and weak but it was all she could say. Pressing close to him and squeezing his hand she tried not to hope.

"I can't," he whispered.

"Please…" she was desperate but didn't know anything else to say. Silence stretched and Hana made up her mind. "Take me with you." She looked him in the eye as she said it. Shock flashed across his eyes then his jaw clenched and his face turned to stone. She couldn't see any emotion there.

"No," Itachi's voice had a note of formality. A small part of her cried out as she comprehended it. She would go if he took her, drop everything she knew, her name, her appearance, her life, her friends, right at that very moment and leave with him. Itachi saw it, the disappointment and the pain that crossed her face when he refused her and it bit him hard. "Hana, we are different," he couldn't tell her the real reasons but he still wanted to explain everything to her right there. Every reason he couldn't take her with him. Every reason he couldn't stay there beside her, all the reasons he couldn't just walk away from his life of crime. "You have a job, Hana, a life, a career ahead of you, a friend who wants nothing more than to see you happy, a mother who loves you, and a little brother who looks up to you." Hana froze at the mention of Kiba. If anything would make her stay it would be him. If she ran away her biggest regret would be never seeing him, letting him down. "Don't give that up Hana. I can't let you make that mistake. It's one you will regret for the rest of your life. One I will carry till the day I die." Hana could only stare into Itachi's dark eyes. There was something there when he uttered those last words, as if he would only carry that regret for a little longer.

"Don't leave me," she asked him feeling tears in her eyes and hearing the clear desperation in her voice. Itachi leaned forward till their lips met gently. Hana was so shocked at the kiss she couldn't do anything for a second but feeling his lips move against hers so hesitantly and yet lovingly. She felt her heart melt in the warmth that spread from that contact. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she returned the kiss. When he broke away Hana pulled her hand up to the back of his neck, keeping his forehead against hers. "Stay," she whispered again, "One night." In his eyes Hana saw him debating, and thought for a moment she could see desire un-restrained in those dark orbs. Itachi wrapped her in his arms so gently, as if he thought she would break into a thousand pieces if he was too rough. Kissing Hana again he pulled her closer.

"I know I shouldn't," He whispered against her neck when they broke apart, Keeping her in a tight but soft embrace. "I have already put you in too much danger and this… this is only endangering you more. When I leave it will be the last time I see you and… I wonder if one night would only make that more painful." Hana pushed away, regretful to leave his arms. Pain and acceptance crossed his eyes as he let her go, arms falling limp, thinking she agreed but Hana took his face in her hands.

"I love you, Itachi Uchiha," she told him. Itachi could only look back at her face, pale in the diffuse light of television. Her eyes shown bright and truthful, her lips red as the red tattoos that glistened under the tracks of her tears. "I know that more clearly than anything in my life." Something sparked in his steely eyes and Itachi bent to press his forehead to Hana's.

"To early seen unknown," he whispered against her lips, "and known too late."

* * *

The street lamps on Hana's street turned off around sunrise in the summer. In the middle of winter they went off just before light touched through the uncovered window. Itachi awoke as the light changed, suddenly and very alert. For a moment he was confused as to where he was or why he had woken up. It was strange to wake up feeling safe and comfortable. Too many times Itachi had woken to find enemies around him, the ceiling of a safe house too close, a lamp of a makeshift operating room, a dingy prison cell, or a cold warehouse, alone. Itachi was also surprised to find he wasn't alone. It was not by far the first time he had slept with a women but the first time he'd woken up with her still lying at his side. Feeling Hana's presence beside him was comforting, it was a warm feeling in his chest.

Hana curled closer to him mumbling in her sleep. It brought a smile to Itachi's face. Her brown hair was splayed across the pillow and her face was a warm cream in the glowing light of morning. For a long time Itachi laid there next to the second women he had ever loved and wondered what had possessed him to stay. He knew he should never have told her he loved her, never stayed with her after she healed him, never gotten into her car when she offered help. But Itachi didn't regret any of it. Itachi had no regrets in his life. He couldn't afford them.

When he was fifteen he'd fallen in love with his neighbor, Marie, and for that Akatsuki had her killed. Every moment he spent with Hana put her in danger, but he didn't want to face the idea of leaving without saying a word. Sasuke was closing in on his trail, Itachi was aware of that, and he knew that in less than a year he would be dead one way or another. That night would only hurt her.

Beside him Hana shifted and her eyes slowly opened.

"Itachi," she mumbled his name groggily but hearing it the criminal in her arms couldn't find the will to regret anything that had happened. She sounded happy, happier then she had ever sounded. "Good morning," she squeezed his sides gently.

"Good morning," Itachi whispered against her hair, "I'm sorry if I woke you."

"No," Hana shook her head and lose strands of hair tickled his shoulder. "Are you always up this early?"

"No," Itachi confessed. "It's just… it was the first night I have had in a long time without nightmares." Hana smiled and pulled his face to hers to kiss him gently.

"I'm glad," she murmured against his lips. "Tea?" she asked and could feel the smirk in his lips. She sat up letting the covers fall away and rolled out of bed to stretch. Rummaging around her room she noticed that Itachi's eyes followed her from where he was still lying on her bed. But he was looking at the red tattoo on her arm.

"Where did you get that?" he asked her curiously. Hana smiled and found a shirt to pull on before answering.

"It's a flower shape that the vet's in my family all have tattooed on their body somewhere. I am named for my grandmother, who was a very successful researcher in veterinary science. When I started training as a nurse I got the tattoo, Kiba thought it was cool, but my mother hated it," Hana paused in her search for a pair of pants. "She said I was dishonoring the family. She hates people enough that… well she thinks I'm better off helping dogs." Spotting the clothing she wanted Hana made a lunge across the room and stubbed her toe on a book. "Ouch," she jumped up before falling back on the bed. Itachi smiled though he didn't laugh. The book was open where it lay on the floor, the scrapbook from Hana's grade school years. Itachi sat up looking at it.

"Pictures from fourth grade," he noted not really to anyone in particular. Hana nodded though he didn't see. The brunet bent and brought the book into her lap so he could see it clearly.

"From the band's winter concert, my friend was a clarinetist," Hana explained. Looking again she realized that there was a young boy from the orchestra behind her and Anna standing next to a woman with dark hair.

"My mother and I," Itachi smiled sadly looking at the blurry woman in the background. Hana flipped to the next page where Mrs. Uchiha was clearer in the background of another photo.

"She was very pretty," Hana told him knowing it couldn't help, nothing would make the loss of a parent better. She knew that from when her father just walked out of her life. Kiba didn't remember him well enough. But she knew and looking at Itachi, his eyes lingering on every blurred detail, she knew he understood that pain even better than she did.

"Yes she was," he finally whispered. He reached up to his throat and held up a necklace attached there. The necklace was simple, a chain connecting three rings of white stone that seemed utterly ordinary and yet beautiful all at the same time. Hana had noticed it when they met and the night before but she hadn't thought much of it. "This was hers," he smiled. "Before that it was my father's mothers and so on. It's the only thing I have left of her."

"Memories?" Hana asked him.

"Few of those," he told her looking down at the sheets, "and too many of them are painful." Almost unconsciously they found each other's hand and held tight. For a long moment they sat that way, each remembering the parent they had lost. "Sun will rise soon. I need to leave before it gets too bright."

They moved through the morning in silence. Hana wordlessly hovering by his side and Itachi always watching her and dreading the moment his phone would ring. It felt strange to sit in the kitchen so normally, as the first rays of sunlight lit up the closed blinds. In just a week it had become normal for the house to be in shadow and two places to be set at the table. Neither of them touched the cups before them that morning. They knew it was the last scene of Romeo and Juliet, it was the slow sinking of the Titanic and death in the freezing waters. There was no friar come to stop Juliet at the last minute or lifeboat to rescue Jack from the sea. There wasn't a happy ending to wait for; all that was left was to read the last chapter with a heavy heart.

On the table between them a phone vibrated. Itachi looked at the screen briefly and said what they both knew aloud. She followed him to the door without a word and stood there beside him as he pulled on the still torn coat he had worn when he first came to her house. Before he picked up the bag at his feet Itachi wrapped Hana in one last embrace.

"No apology can make this right," he whispered, "But I'm sorry anyway."

"Don't be," Hana shook her head, "Thank you, for everything." Pushing away she took his face in her hands and stood there trying to memorize every line and shadow for a long moment. She looked into his eyes for the last time, knowing that nothing would do them justice. His eyes were not the color of ash or coal but somehow every color in-between. They were every shine of steal and gleam of silver. His eyes were every color in a storm cloud and every glint in a snowflake. No one in the world had eyes like he did.

"Hana," Itachi couldn't look away from her knowing that every moment was precious, "I must ask that no matter what you hear, never doubt that I love this country, I love my brother, and I love you." They kissed for the last time. It was a gentle but passionate kiss. It was a hopeless kiss between two people that have resigned to lock away a part of their hearts and have no regrets.

When Itachi left he walked over Hana's porch for the second and last time, down steps that creaked and crossed the street to where a black SUV waited with government plates. Through the heavily tinted windows Hana saw a man leaning against the steering wheel watching Itachi's thin form cross the deserted street. The man in the car grinned, showing teeth that were ground to points. Hana never forgot that smile of the shiver that ran down her smile when she saw it. Somehow she knew he was looking at her. Itachi didn't look back. He never once turned to see her watching through a crack in the door or to catch one last glimpse of her red tattooed face. The hardened criminal would never let his partner in the SUV know how much Hana meant to him, he had promised himself she wouldn't end up like Marie, like his mother.

It was the last time they ever saw each other. In a week they had found happiness that some people search their whole lives for and never find. Hana and Itachi gave up that happiness for their families who needed them. A week after their parting Hana adopted a puppy with large gray eyes. A month later her best friend moved back in. A year later she was attending her brother's graduation. A year and five months, almost to the day, after leaving Hana on that porch Itachi lay in a shallow red pool on the hard concrete floor of an abandoned military base on the Fire-Wind border, his eyes unable to see his little brother standing over him and the quivering gun Sasuke gripped.

* * *

End Chapter 5

* * *

[AN: Ok so they watched The Last Samurai, love that movie, then Grave of Fireflies, one of the best war movies I have ever seen and really sad, I couldn't think of a comedy because I hate them, and then Titanic, yes I'm a sap, I know. That might be why I'm on FFN XP. Anyway I love James Cameron and I don't care if you don't. I understand why. Yes Itachi just quoted Shakespeare, act. 1 sc. 5 line 153 of Romeo and Juliet. Please don't bug me about the quote. Hope you liked it and a big thanks to everyone who read all the way through. –sel]

[AN: Warning! If you don't like sad endings don't read. I couldn't help but add this ending cause… well Itachi dies. -sel]

* * *

Epilogue: Death

* * *

A package was delivered to Hana just three days after Itachi's death; the press hadn't even gotten a hold of the story yet. A thick covering of clouds above make the morning dark. Rain pounded against the roof and ran in deep rivers across the streets. Hana was before her TV with a steaming mug of coffee looking forward to a relaxing weekend. She was surprised when the doorbell rang so late in the morning. The man who delivered her package explained he wasn't a mail carrier; it was a favor for a friend. She looked him over skeptically, never having thought for a moment he was a mail carrier. The man looked to be around 50 and he had long white hair and wore bright red ostentatious clothing, all of which was soaked by the driving rain. Nodding good night she set the wet box on the coffee table.

Beside her on the faded cushions was a brown puppy with big gray eyes that were closed in sleep at the moment. She scratched his head as she looked the package over. It was about the size of a textbook and not very heavy. Cautiously she opened it and found first two letters, thankfully dry. One was addressed to her and the second to Sasuke. Realizing immediately who had sent the box and why the unorthodox fashion she emptied the contents on the table. The only other items were a well used but loved copy of Romeo and Juliet, and a necklace box. Hana felt her heart sink as she opened the latter item.

Inside was a sturdy chain connecting three rings of pale stone, a simple but beautiful design. Something inside Hana knew at that moment she would never see Itachi again. Subconsciously she had seen the signs in the week she knew him and the necklace was simply the last clue.

Desperately Hana opened the letter addressed to her. It was written in thick black pen by a shaking hand on blue lined, white paper, dotted with water smudges. It read:

_**My Dearest Hana,**_

_** I can't explain how hard it is to say that by the**_

_**time you read this I will be dead and I know there is **_

_**nothing I can write in this letter that will make that any**_

_**easier for you. No apology will make this better but I'm sorry,**_

_**so deeply sorry. **_

_** When I met you at that bus shelter, so long ago it**_

_**seems now, I knew that within two years I would die of **_

_**lung cancer, even with the best treatments. Forgive me for**_

_**keeping this secret from you, the one person who had **_

_**more right than anyone to know. I have wondered since**_

_**the day I left you if it would have been worse to tell you**_

_**then or now. Perhaps I selfishly held on to some irrational **_

_**hope all this time that I might survive and see you again. **_

_**But even before I learned of my illness or I met you I knew **_

_**that I would have to face my brother one day and die at his **_

_**hands.**_

_** I asked you once about Kiba and I know that**_

_**you understand how much an older sibling will do to **_

_**protect their family. This thought is my only comfort **_

_**now, because of it I know you will not hold my actions **_

_**against me. It is the cruelest death, suicide by another's **_

_**hand. I don't expect that Sasuke will ever forgive me **_

_**even when he learns the truth and in the same way **_

_**I cannot ask or expect your forgiveness either. **_

_** The necklace is for you. My mother would have**_

_**wanted you to have it. In a different life she would have**_

_**given it to you herself. I don't pretend to think she will be**_

_**waiting for me with open arms. The night she died I**_

_**killed my father first. I knew she was awake, she had**_

_**never fallen asleep yet she didn't cry out at the gun shot.**_

_**She pressed the necklace into my hand and she told me**_

_**she loved me. She asked me to look after Sasuke. Her**_

_**blood never seemed to wash off of the necklace till I met you.**_

_**Visit her grave. Tell her I kept my promise. If Sasuke**_

_**comes give him the letter, he'll understand. **_

_** I never thought I would pity Romeo for the little **_

_**time he had nor be jealous of knowing Juliet was waiting.**_

_**I know you will never forget Hana, I can't ask you to.**_

_**Just be happy and live. **_

_**I love you,**_

_**Itachi**_

For a long minuet Hana could only stare at the letter in her hands and the rippled circles his tears had made. Five times she reread the words hoping for something more, but every time it was painfully real. Hana knew Itachi for one week and in that week she realized that if he called her name no one else would matter, only him, only Itachi. But the familiar silence was closing in and every sound seemed muted and far away. The one voice she waited to hear in her dreams was gone forever, and it wasn't coming back. Tears streamed down her face as for a sixth time she reread the letter and cried. She cried for the loss of an impossible dream.

"_A glooming peace this morning with it brings. _

_The sun for sorrow will not show his head."_

(Romeo and Juliet)

* * *

[AN: Well there. That's the end. I finished a multi chapter fic! Wooo! First one! I hope you liked it ^^ -sel]

[AN 2: I know everyone hates sad endings so I might write an alternate happy ending… if that is possible. I always hoped Itachi would survive the series but alas I knew he was doomed to die. If you would be interested in a happy alternate ending just review and tell me. –sel]


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